These grain-free, paleo-friendly Mexican almond pulp brownies are a delicious way to use up almond pulp and satisfy chocolate cravings at the same time.
Long-time readers may recall that I already have a recipe for Mexican brownies on my site. However, these are quite different. The brownies I posted last year are paleo, but taste very much like traditional brownies (and if you don’t have almond pulp on hand, you might want to just head over to that post and make those). Today’s brownies, however, are a horse of a different color. While I find them just as delicious as the others, or perhaps more so, their texture differs from a traditional brownie. They’re more like squares of moist, light chocolate cake. They are not crunchy around the edges and chewy in the middle, but instead boast an appealingly tender, cake-like crumb throughout.
And, of course, they have the added benefit of making a dent in the pile of almond pulp that quickly accumulates in the kitchen of any DIY nut milk drinker.
However, I’ve been known to make almond milk just to get the pulp for this recipe. These brownies are that good! Whether you make these brownies because you have almond pulp or make almond milk because you want these brownies, I know you won’t regret it.
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1¼ cups raw sugar or coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup butter or ghee
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons lightly packed almond pulp (left over from making almond milk)*
- 1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for serving
- Pinch or two of cayenne pepper (or up to ¼ teaspoon for spicier brownies)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch square pan with parchment.
- Beat the eggs, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment for 5 minutes on medium-high, until very fluffy. Stir in the vanilla.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter or ghee in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in the almond pulp. Continue to heat, stirring often, until the mixture is warmed throughout.
- Add the warm pulp to the mixer and beat on low speed, and then add the cocoa, cinnamon, and cayenne, beating just until combined. The batter will decrease in volume.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with a few small crumbs attached, being careful not to overbake. Cool completely in the pan. Use the parchment to lift the brownies out and slice them into 9 or 16 squares.
- Dust with cinnamon if desired and enjoy right away, or store covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Used in this recipe:
I made almond milk and of course I had left over pulp. I opened a bunch of tabs with almond pulp recipes and almost all of them were breakfast balls or energy balls. Not gonna lie, I wasn’t leaning toward this one to much, but I made it only because all the other ones were vegan and used weird ingredients that I definitely didn’t have. But it kind of made sense. Most people who make make almond milk are vegans or vegetarians, so it made sense that almond pulp recipes would be vegan too. I encountered a problem on the first step. The recipe said beat the eggs until they wee fluffy, and I had no idea what that meant. The only time I’ve seen eggs being described as ‘fluffy’ is when it is the whites alone. however,after a bit of stress, I got everything whipped up and I was really scared I would fail. Oh, and let me make this clear: I wasn’t following the recipe exactly, I used iodized instead of sea salt, I used regular cocoa powder instead of the dutch kind, and my eggs weren’t exactly room temperature.
Any way, back to my issue, I think fluffy was the wrong word to describe the egg mixture. But it didn’t matter much. It only added a bit of stress. Also, you will need a bit more time in the oven for the brownies, I put ’em in for 25 minutes and they definitely weren’t done.
Now, lets focus on the taste. I was surprised by the taste. I thought the recipe was crazy when it included a dash of cayenne. This would be perfect for my dad who isn’t a fan of overly sweet things. However, I am not even a teenager yet, so, for now, the taste was interesting. Since I made the recipe solely because I needed to get rid of almond pulp, I was just happy to get almond pulp out of my way.
Hi, How can i make these vegan? What can I use to substitute for the eggs?
Hi Rashmi, I’ve never made these without eggs and I don’t do much egg-free baking. You could start experimenting with whatever egg substitute usually works best for you!
Been making crackers and energy bites with my pulp. But wow… brownies! I’m anxious to make some. Thanks for the share!
Who knew brownies could be so healthy & delicious.. these look great Rebecca!
Thank you, Thalia!
Hi Becky,
this recipe is ideal for me and lots of other people that make almond milk at home…
I'm definitely going to try them these days 🙂
Great, Jasmin! Let me know what you think 🙂
Oh I love this version!! And your pictures are so pretty. Thank you so much for the kind words!
Thank you, Alanna! Your blog is so great for inspiration!!
I think that one of the reasons I have never made my own nut milk is because of the waste problem. I can't think of a better way to use up the extra pulp!
Thanks, Nora! Hope you give these a go.